Psalm 106:43 –
Again and again he rescued them, but they chose to rebel against him, and they were finally destroyed by their sin.
Again and again, over and over He rescues us. We can drop off the face of the earth or directly go against His wishes and He still loves us. Sure the rescue may not be exactly what we want, but it’s what is best for us. We saw this in 105 also, where the cycle continues the same for man. Life is always a struggle between the “world” and God. It ends up becomes a battle with wanting better things and keeping in touch with God.
Some say we cannot do both, other say God wants us to enjoy life to the full and that means having more “stuff”. I think there is a fine line which gets crossed constantly between our relationship with God and with “stuff.” Jesus said it right, you cannot serve two masters, you cannot serve God and “stuff.” Once the “stuff” takes over your life and pushes God away then it’s a problem. Unfortunately that seems to be the ultimate conclusion to wanting more “stuff.” It becomes a driving force in life and pushes not only God away but other relationships.
We were talking about this last night how you can go into Central America into some remote towns and see people living on dirt floors or even in dumps. Even compared to the USA before the technology revolution they have little. But the thing you notice is the joy they possess. They are not concerned with the next iPad, iPhone or iLife, no they just have joy for life and God. It’s refreshing to see and when you spend time there you realize what damage the stuff has done to our relationship with God.
No matter what, through it all, God continues to “bless” us along the way until those “blessings” become a “curse.” We just have to learn to face life’s peaks and valleys the same way, through prayer, fellowship and worship. Remember to give thanks to God, who is the source of all things. If you can do this then you will have joy not matter what the circumstances. Now if I could learn to practice this, since I am having a hard time finding peace!!